Clients

"I’m so pleased with how this went! There are some amazing entries. To choose a shortlist is difficult.These are all really creative and fit in well with the brand. I think they’re amazing."

“Kpow! A blitzkrieg of super-powered ideas from the caped crusaders of creativity. Our collaboration was inspired and warmly received by the men in tights.”

"We have worked with Nick Entwistle and James Clancy, the founders of One Minute Briefs for a considerable length of time now and have always found them to be extremely passionate about what they do, eager to engage with the industry and their innovative invention makes them a pleasure to deal with. Its very apparent that they are both destined for an incredibly bright future and we only hope that they remember us when they reach the dizzy heights. Go boys!"

I first emailed Nick and James completely out of the blue, asking if they were able to support the foundation through One Minute Briefs. From the offset Nick and James were enthusiastic in supporting the cause and helping the charity gain a whole host of promotional material (Banners, Posters etc). Nick and James' brief captured the heart of the foundation and its meaning, making the entries beyond what we could have ever expected from any huge marketing agency. Everyone at the charity is incredibly thankful to Nick, James and all those that sent in there ideas throughout our collaboration, we use much of the material to this day.

‘Working with One Minute Briefs was a really interesting experience. It was great to put the brief out there and be overwhelmed by the creative and in some cases pretty hilarious responses we got in return. Really helped open up the campaign.’

One Minute Brief of the Day: Campaign to get supermarkets to Donate Unsold Food To Foodbanks + Registered Charities

One Minute Brief of the Day:

Campaign to get supermarkets to Donate Unsold Food To Foodbanks + Registered Charities



Today's brief is for a great cause and I thought it would make a great subject after seeing my friend Heather Suttie @blondi_sos create a petition to campaign for it. She is also giving away a prize of a bottle of Champagne for today's winner so get involved!

Remember that the main aim is to get people to sign this petition so if you're entering make sure you sign it too here!
https://www.change.org/p/supermarkets-in-scotland-donate-unsold-food-to-foodbanks-registered-charities 
Use the hashtags #FoodFight and #FoodBanks and mention whoever you'd want to take action in your tweets.

See info below:

In 2013, 200,000 tonnes of food was disposed of by Asda, Co-operative Food, Morrisons, M&S, Sainsbury’s, Tesco and Waitrose. These supermarkets account for around 87% of the UK grocery market.

This food could be donated to those who need it most.

The number of people relying on foodbanks is on the increase, rather than relying on the public to donate to foodbanks, we would like to see supermarkets in Scotland automatically donate unsold food to foodbanks and charities.

In June this year Tesco CEO Dave Lewis wrote this blog post in Huffington Post where he says "It's shocking when you look at the numbers. Even though just 1% of food waste is from supermarkets, 55,400 tonnes of food was thrown away at Tesco stores in the past year. About 30,000 tonnes of that could have been eaten. That's equivalent to over 70million meals. It's simply a huge amount of food."

Morrisons has more than 60 stores in Scotland, wouldn't it be great if they signed up to commit to donating food to charities and foodbanks rather than sending it to landfill?

France’s parliament recently announced measures to tackle food waste by passing a law banning supermarkets from destroying unsold food. Read more in this article.

Please sign this petition and share it, so that supermarkets literally step up to the plate! We can then take steps with supermarkets to address this issue.

OMBTIP: Don't put @OneMinuteBriefs at the start of your tweet.

OMBTIP:
Don't put @OneMinuteBriefs at the start of your tweet.

Something I've noticed a lot lately is people putting @OneMinuteBriefs at the beginning of their tweets. These tweets simply aren't having the reach that they potentially could be, which means you aren't getting the RT's you deserve.

Reason:

If you start a tweet with @username (e.g...@OneMinuteBriefs), it’s classed as a reply. And will only be seen by the person you replied to and people who are following both of you. Nobody else will see it!!

So instead of tweeting like this:

@OneMinuteBriefs Here is my ad for #Motorbikes

tweet like this:

Here is my ad for #Motorbikes @OneMinuteBriefs

Make sure your ideas get the shares they deserve!

Guest Blog Post: NO FEAR

Guest Blog Post: NO FEAR 
by Bernie Thornton aka @Red_Shark

Last night I received an e-mail from my friend Bernie in response to my recent blog post about D&AD New Blood and One Minute Briefs. I thought it was such a great e-mail that I asked if I could use it for a guest blog post. So here it is! Enjoy...

I read your blog post Nick; very good.
I didn’t notice the fear factor as much as you did, all the participants looked like they were having a ball to me, but you obviously picked up on it.
I agree, this fear of putting thoughts down on paper only inhibits the creative process.
If these students are saying to you that they’re not much good at this type of thing, they should be looking for another line of work!
I was always taught to, ‘Get something down on paper’ and be confident, it didn’t matter what the hell it was. Most of the work was usually on the mark, daft or not, and you never know; there might be someone around who can see something in a scribble that could end up being a top campaign. Something that may seem stupid to you at the time, but If you don’t get it down on paper, you’ll never know.
When I work with other creatives this type of thinking always loosens us up. It’s much more fun in my experience. It’s the way I’ve always worked and I still do, that’s why I like OMB – its bloody good fun and as a consequence the end results are of a very high standard.
Probably one of the daftest ideas I came up with, I remember – I did it for a joke – was a trade ad for a toothpaste. Armed with no more than a black Pentel pen, I drew a hand holding up a big tube of toothpaste with a large headline right across the top of it that said ‘Up Yours!’
Copy went on about sales up, profits up…usual trade stuff.
In less than a minute it was up on the wall, but I thought it wouldn’t stand a chance. When the account guy walked in and saw it he laughed his head off, he loved it.
I said to him, ‘Sell that to your client and I’ll buy you a drink’. He did, with no changes – I bought him two! 
Sure it was daft, considered a bit rude – well, it was for the time – but it worked and it ran.
It would never have existed if there was fear.
OMB brings a bit of that fun back into the business and it showed at DandAD New Blood, where those have-a-go students really got into the One Minute Brief.
You didn’t see a miserable face on Stand 18 – well, not while I was there - and the photos prove it!
I just wonder if students are being encouraged these days to think out loud, or are being steered towards a more isolated way of working. 
It’s been a long time since I’ve ever been involved with a University or a College so I wouldn’t know.
It’s something I sense though.

Thanks to Bernie for this great piece. Fear restricts creative thinking and once that is removed the great ideas will come.

One Minute Brief of the Day: Advertise The Fresh Awards Deadline Extension to 10 July.

One Minute Brief of the Day: Advertise The Fresh Awards Deadline Extension to 10 July. 

What is your equation for success?

Today we've got an interesting brief in collaboration with our friends at the Fresh Awards and a fantastic prize for the winner. Make sure you get involved for the chance to join OMB at the award ceremony. Remember to include your Twitter handle in the corner of your ads and tweet them to @freshawards and @OneMinuteBriefs

 

www.freshawards.co.uk / #Fresh2015 / @freshawards

 

Fresh 2015 is almost upon us and the deadline is this Friday 10 July. We have a new website and a new creative treatment for the awards this year and to underline our listen rather than lecture policy, we have made changes to categories, criteria and indeed our judges. So shout about our new deadline date to the world, and the best entry will get two VIP tickets to the ceremony in October and maybe the odd beer too! Good Luck

 

One Minute Briefs: Stand 18 at D&AD New Blood

One Minute Briefs: Stand 18 at D&AD New Blood

A blog post to document our experience at the D&AD New Blood Exhibition in 2015.

Image courtesy of @Gazzamatazzzz

On the last day of June, I travelled down to London from Manchester for the opening night of D&AD New Blood. 'Twas scorching and, armed with a heavy suitcase and big banner filled cardboard tube on the Tube, I arrived an hour or so before the first people were set to arrive. Luckily, I had the lovely Aga (one of our loyal followers) with me to help set the stand up within an hour and we were good to go. Our banner was up, website/Twitter on show and we had stuck up the entries from our One Minute Brief to advertise New Blood that we had run the day before. With the tables and chairs set up and head to head Ad Pads/N50 markers at the ready, the stage was set for the OMBs to commence.

The opening night went brilliantly with lots of involvement from the graduates and visitors and a few free beers thrown in too! Although, I didn't get much time off the stand, it was obvious that there was lots of great work on show from the little bits I was able to see. Both the enthusiasm to get involved and quality of work stood people in good stead as I was on the look-out for some new talent with a view to giving them a paid placement at one of the UK's top ad agencies.

However, despite the fantastic response, I also found that a lot of the students/grads were showing fear of having a go at a One Minute Brief. They feared having a bad idea, or said that they're no good at this type of thing... but how do you know if you don't try? When some of these people were convinced to have a go, they came back time and time again as they realised that, not only was it a lot of fun, but they could also create interesting and unique ideas. When you stop fearing bad ideas, the good ones will come. This is one of the things I'm trying to change with OMB and I feel can really help free up creative minds. It's One Minute... who cares whether the idea is good or bad? The most important thing is to have an idea!

The next day was a big test for everyone with record-breaking temperatures turning Old Spitalfields Market into a greenhouse style sweatbox. The effects were obvious with people nearly melting as they checked out the stands and the D&AD booklets transforming into hand fans everywhere. That made it even more important for people to grasp the opportunity to put themselves in front of the members of industry and get involved in the workshops and stands around the festival. For graduates with the hunger to succeed, D&AD New Blood really does offer you so many opportunities and a lot of the graduates were getting involved in everything on offer and I'm happy to say that the OMB stand was absolutely non-stop throughout the day with funny, silly, brilliant and crazy ideas filling the walls. It was great to see some of the @OneMinuteBriefs followers (OMBLES) making the visit too and we got some great photos which you can see below.

I had been planning to spend the entire third day having a proper look around the stands but D&AD asked if I could do a third day on the OMB stand. After such a successful first two days, I agreed to do it as long as I was flexible to try and have a look around where I could. On a slightly cooler third day, there was no let-up on the relentless OMB stand as the walls were now being layered with ideas!! After lunch I decided to have a look around at the work. From their involvement on my stand and their attitude, I was keen to check out work from Stuart Foy (he bribed us with Irn Bru) Liam Bruce (who has excelled recently on OMB), Kate Isaac's (who was our next door neighbour and sold the idea of OMB to a visitor on the stand better than I do myself!) Dan Scott (who has been prolific on OMB and even took over the stand when I needed a break) and the guys at Newcastle 3 (these guys self-funded their stand, a courier for their work/furniture and travel/accomodation). All of this stuff doesn't go un-noticed and, as long as the work, is of a good standard, will set you apart from others. I was also impressed by @ldcircocreative who had created a book that they pitched, ‏@Anyaa_Dev @SimoneMascagni for their moving stand and the @lionarses for creating a brand/product for themselves. 

All of these guys are doing something different, going above and beyond to promote themselves and get ahead of others. And, at the end of the day, all of the graduates are competing against each other, so this is hugely important. As I walked around the stands, too many grads were sat on their phones in their stand and talking to each other rather than making an effort to talk to the people who could be giving them contacts and, potentially, jobs. On some stands, I couldn't even get close to the work as their were so many people in the chairs sat looking fed up as if they didn't want to be there. On the other hand, a lot of the stands were inviting and there were smiley faces and people were proud of their work and wanting to tell people about it.

Guess which ones I spent the most time at?

I think some grads are under the impression that they will walk into the creative industry at the top agencies, but that just isn't the case. Something I have been saying at some of my talks lately is 'The most important work you do is the work you do to get people to look at the work you do'. This is even more true at a place like D&AD New Blood where you have a fantastic platform to connect with the industry. Make sure you make the most of it.

Overall, I'm very happy to have been part of yet another fantastic event put on by D&AD, our stand was even more busy this year and it was great to see some of the great new talent on show at some very well-finished stands, as well as meet some very impressive graduates. 

Hope to be back again next year!

Nick
OMB



 Check out some photos of our stand below:

FIND US AT STAND 18 @DandADNewBlood #NBFestival #OMBLIVE

FIND US AT STAND 18 @DandADNewBlood #NBFestival #OMBLIVE

We're delighted to announce that, for the third year running, we'll be hosting a stand at D&AD New Blood... so if you're attending as a visitor or student be sure to visit Stand 18!!!!

On the stand you'll be able to chat to us, show your portfolios & have a go at some One Minute Briefs. We're also going to be awarding placements at one of the UK's top advertising agencies. So make sure you get involved!

Tweet selfies, your One Minute Brief ads, pics of us & the stand...or anything else to @OneMinuteBriefs using the hashtags #OMBLIVE and #NBFestival

I (Nick) will be running the stand with one of our followers/OMBLES, Aga, who has kindly offered to help out. Come and say hello and have a go at a One Minute Brief or three. It's all about putting an idea down without any fear. Whether it's good or shit, it really doesn't matter as you've only had one minute on it! We guarantee you'll enjoy it!!

Also, on the opening night 30th I'd like to get as many OMBLES on the stand as possible at the same time for a big group photo. I'll tweet on the night but I'd like it to happen at around 7:30pm. Come and find us! Stand 18.

I'll also be announcing the winners of the brief I ran today to advertise the D&AD New Blood Exhibition/Festival. Vote for your faves here: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.458352297660191.1073742190.160639764098114&type=3

If you have any questions or would like to collaborate/ share an idea please e-mail interest@bankofcreativity.co.uk

Looking forward to it and hope to see a lot of you there!!

Stand 18

Old Spitalfields Market,

30 June 6pm - 9pm

1st July 2015 10-30am - 8pm

Shoreditch, 

London

OMBanned

Hello all,

Felt the need to write this post after a few things came to light in the last few days that I was completely unaware of. I'm quite shocked at what I have read and I'm also interested to find out if any other people have been affected by the same thing.

Firstly, one of our valued and ever-improving followers (OMBLE) recently tweeted that he had been banned from entering One Minute Briefs by his employer.

Of course, myself and the other followers were shocked by this, especially after finding out he isn't even allowed to enter in his own time of lunch, breaks or after work. In my personal opinion, this is completely unfair and a real shame for someone who has created some great ideas, won prizes and become a respected member of this vibrant OMB community.

To deny someone the opportunity to be creative and part of something is something I really cannot comprehend. You only need to look at a few of the testimonials here http://oneminutebriefs.blogspot.co.uk/p/testimonials.html to see how entering One Minute Briefs has improved people's confidence and creativity, which they have been able to implement into their everyday work as well as push themselves to enter awards. To stunt that enthusiasm and creativity is something I never thought would happen in a 'creative' industry. We all have to do the day-to-day stuff which makes OMB an outlet to flex our creative muscles. That should never be frowned upon.

Since this story, I have received a couple of messages about similar stories of negativity towards OMB. One person who entered OMB was told "not to use up all his creativity" What a ridiculous comment... creativity is what we do, it doesn't run out. And, if anything, OMB makes you more and more creative.

Another person told me how they experienced negativity whilst proudly telling people about OMB and it's benefits. They received sarcastic comments about their involvement and now have to enter in secret (if ever) which is to the detriment of their creative development, as well as denying them the chance of prizes.

Of course, it is the prerogative of bosses to choose what their creatives are and aren't involved in, but I am strongly against taking away someone's involvement. The very nature of One Minute Briefs is to send a quick idea in every now and then. It has improved creatives without a doubt and has massively improved my own creative thinking and output as a result of entering the briefs myself.

Overall, I'm shocked that certain people are frowning upon people having a few minutes of complete creative freedom each day and improving their thinking whilst being a part of a very friendly community. If you are doing this, I'd advise you to rethink as you are restricting people's creativity and their potential improvement as an employee.
It's called a creative industry for a reason. Give people the freedom to be creative.

Thanks for reading,
Nick,
OMB

p.s. I'm very keen to hear of any more situations like the ones I have mentioned so please e-mail/tweet me to let me know your experiences and if you are against the idea of OMB then please let me know your reasons why: interest@bankofcreativity.co.uk

One Minute Brief of the Day: Create ads for #StopCyberBullyingDay with @CybersmileHQ

One Minute Brief of the Day:
Create ads for Stop Cyber Bullying Day #SCD2015 with @CybersmileHQ

Today we've got a brilliant brief for a fantastic cause. Looking forward to seeing the results of this one. There's also a great prize for the winner so get involved!


On Friday 19th June, Cybersmile celebrate the third annual Stop Cyberbullying Day, where everybody can get involved and make a difference both on and off-line. We are asking everybody who cares about cyberbullying and online hate campaigns to join our growing movement for action against online bullying and to help us create a much safer more enjoyable environment for our children’s future. We'd like to see ideas that support and raise awareness of Stop Cyberbullying Day.


Prize
£100 Amazon gift voucher


What We Do
The Cybersmile Foundation is a multi award winning anti cyberbullying non-profit organization. Committed to tackling all forms of digital abuse and bullying online, we work to promote diversity and inclusion by building a safer, more positive digital community.

Through education and the promotion of positive digital citizenship we reduce incidents of cyberbullying and through our professional help and support services we enable victims and their families to regain control of their lives.


Social/Web Links
Twitter: @CybersmileHQ
Facebook: The Cybersmile Foundation
YouTube: Cybersmile Official
Instagram: cybersmilefoundation
Tumblr: cybersmile


Website: https://www.cybersmile.org

One Minute Brief of the Day: Create an ad to support the launch of the newly-rebranded SoSmartMoney.

One Minute Brief of the Day:

Create an ad to support the launch of the newly-rebranded SoSmartMoney. 

Today we have a great brief with a company that has recently rebranded and there is a brilliant prize up for grabs worth £250. That's equivalent to £15000 an hour for your One Minute idea!!! Get involved!

Tweet your entries @SoSmartMoney and @OneMinuteBriefs for the chance to win.

Please remember to include:

- The SoSmartMoney logo

- Create a new tagline that signifies the new brand (this is an important part of the brief!!)

- Your Twitter handle in the corner of your entry

  

SoSmartMoney Background

Price comparison site SoSwitch has rebranded to SoSmartMoney, reflecting its new focus towards a more personal, advice-focused customer service. 

The new brand identity signals the change from directing customers to switch products to offering more guidance and education around their finances. It will help to connect our customers with the advice that is right for them, with a view to aiding the customer rather than pushing them to switch if they are already on the right tariffs.

For more info: https://www.sosmartmoney.co.uk

One Minute Brief of the Day: Advertise the @ukagencyawards

One Minute Brief of the Day: Advertise the @ukagencyawards

Today we've got a brilliant brief with fantastic prize to be won. We're collaborating with our friends who have recently launched the UK Agency Awards which is all about rewarding the art of new business and advertising yourself!

Remember to include your Twitter handle in the corner of your ads and tweet them to @ukagencyawards & @OneMinuteBriefs for the chance to win.

Prize: 2 tickets to the awards dinner at the Emirates Stadium on 10th September

About:

The UK Agency Awards are the UK's first awards to celebrate the way that agencies are run, marketed and grown, and are judged exclusively by a panel of senior clients. Closing date for entries 19th June.

Find out more at:

www.ukagencyawards.com

We look forward to seeing your ideas!

OMBmeet: Edinburgh 10/06/15

OMBmeet: Edinburgh 10/06/15

After last week's great OMBmeet in London, this week we're in Edinburgh. There has already been some interested in some OMBLES getting together whilst we're here so I've decided to arrange something for next week. Hope to see some of you there. 

Please can you tweet me @OneMinuteBriefs or e-mail me at interest@bankofcreativity.co.uk if you can make it. The more the merrier.

Meet: 

7pm, Wednesday, 10th June,
The Cambridge Bar, 
20 Young Street, 
Edinburgh, 
EH2 4JB

One Minute Brief of the Day: Create ads to show how sipping is the healthiest way for babies and young children to drink with Babycup

One Minute Brief of the Day: Create ads to show how sipping is the healthiest way for babies and young children to drink with Babycup

Today we've got an interesting brief on a great product! Babycup are a fellow Theo Paphitis #SBS winner alongside us at One Minute Briefs. Looking forward to seeing the results of this collab! 

Remember to put your Twitter handle on the corner of your ads and tweet them to @BabycupHello and @OneMinuteBriefs for your chance to win!!

Prize: Two packs of Babycups and a bottle of Silent Pool gin.
http://www.silentpooldistillers.com/

N.B. !!!! These prizes are in no way related to one another and must not be used together!!! Please give the Babycups to a super sipping baby or young child and the gin to a responsible adult over 18 years of age!!! Very important to not muddle the two!!!!

About Babycup Baby & Toddler First Cups
Award-winning mini open cups for weaning and beyond. Designed by a mum, loved by parents, enjoyed by little ones.
Recommended by health professionals including dentists, orthodontists and health visitors for every mealtime.
Babycup is the right size for little hands and little mouths, helps sipping, supports oral health and develops fine motor skills.
Experts advise that open cups should be used from as early an age as possible as they encourage sipping and are best for teeth.
Made in Britain, BPA free, dishwasher/steriliser safe.
Super cute and the healthy choice, Babycup looks good and does good.
Also suitable for cup-feeding milk to infants.
Available from leading stockists including JoJo Maman Bebe.
“This little cup is perfect. Every child should have a Babycup!” NHS Oral Health Promoter Lynette Anear

RRP £7.99 for a pack of four cups.

https://twitter.com/BabycupHello
https://www.facebook.com/BabycupUK
www.babycup.co.uk

One Minute Brief of the Day: Advertise #CopywritersUnite

One Minute Brief of the Day:
Advertise #CopywritersUnite

Today we've got a brief for a great meet-up that has been arranged by Vikki Ross, who I run @AgencyQuotes with on Twitter. Let's use the OMBLE power to spread the word!!
I'll be going to the meet-up on 16th June and I know a few OMBLES who are going too so I look forward to seeing a few of you there! The more the merrier :D

Remember to use the hashtag #CopywritersUnite on your tweets and include your Twitter handle in the corner of your ad.

Details to include:

#CopywritersUnite
6.30pm
16th June
Jacks Bar
Jacksbarlondon.co.uk

About:

Copywriters are using the #copywritersunite hashtag all day every day. From around the world to down the road, we’re supporting and celebrating each other in the craft it’s clear we all love.

And this year, that spirit has come to life in the real world too. Armed with only obscure Twitter bio photos, some of us have braved physical socialising at recent #copywritersunite nights out in London, and they’ve been brilliant. 

OMBMeet: London May 28th

OMBMeet: London May 28th

Hello everyone,

Just a quick post to let you know about the goings-on at OMB in the next couple of days.

I am doing a talk at the Art of New Business Event tomorrow night (27th) in Manchester alongside great speakers Ben Tallon & Danny Ashton. Hope to see some of you there: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/small-but-mighty-winning-new-business-with-limited-resource-tickets-16702974045

The following morning I am doing another talk in London with DMA alongside great speakers from Cancer Research and Cadbury's. Again, would be great to see some of you there. FREE tickets. Some still available here: http://dma.org.uk/event/go-viral-while-you-re-young

After the talk on Thursday I've arranged to meet up for lunch in the London Bridge area with Paul Bond (OMBLE) and it would be great if we could get a few more of you to join us. Please e-mail me at interest@bankofcreativity.co.uk if you'd like to join us or give me a tweet @OneMinuteBriefs.

I'm going to be around in London for the rest of the day catching up with people and will be meeting people for after-work drinks. If you'd like to come along for this then e-mail me or tweet me. Venue to be confirmed. Hope to see some of you on Thursday!

One Minute Brief of the Day: Advertise Bidvine

One Minute Brief of the Day: Advertise Bidvine - The new way for consumers to find local professionals so they can spend more time doing the things they love.

Today we've got a fantastic opportunity to win a great prize with a brilliant brand. We're looking forward to seeing your great ideas for this brief. With a prize of £250 available (equivalent of £15000 per hour), make sure you get involved!!

Remember to include your twitter name in the corner of your ads and tweet them to @Bidvine and @OneMinuteBriefs

About Bidvine:

Bidvine is all about making things easier for consumers. Whether you’re looking for a plumber a personal trainer or a piano teacher we can help you find the right person. Just tell us what you need and answer a few short questions and we’ll come back with a shortlist of quotes from up to 5 professionals who are interested, qualified and available, leaving you with more time to do the things you love.

See the video here to see exactly how it all works: http://blog.bidvine.com/how-to-bidvine/
Prize: £250 cash for the winner.

Links:
www.bidvine.com
https://www.facebook.com/Bidvine
https://twitter.com/bidvine

One Minute Brief of the Day: Create ads to raise awareness of the dangers #DehydratedDriving in association with @LeasingOptions

One Minute Brief of the Day:

Create ads to raise awareness of the dangers #DehydratedDriving in association with @LeasingOptions

Today we've got a fantastic opportunity to work with a brilliant brand to raise awareness of a subject that not a lot of people are aware of. We're looking forward to seeing how everyone approaches the brief, which is completely open to interpretation!!

Brief:

Create an ad to raise awareness of 'dehydrated driving', in association with Leasing Options. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/health/news/11547199/Not-drinking-enough-water-has-same-effect-as-drink-driving.html

Prize:

The winning entry will receive a £100 Amazon voucher!!

Please include the LeasingOptions logo and include your twitter handle on your images.

Remember to include @LeasingOptions and @OneMinuteBriefs in your tweets.

About Leasing Options:

With over 20 years experience in the car and van leasing industry, Leasing Options Ltd provides car leasing customers with Contract Hire, HP, Finance Lease, Personal Contract hire and Personal Contract Purchase. Van leasing in the form of Contract Hire or Finance Lease is also readily available to business drivers throughout the UK.

https://www.leasingoptions.uk

What it feels like to...have a heart attack at 26 years old

What it feels like to...have a heart attack at 26 years old

Friday the 13th. Unlucky for some.

On Friday 13^th February, for the first, and possibly last time, I entered my own ‘One Minute Briefs F.C.’ team into the MPA Football Tournament. We were up against against a lot of the Manchester advertising/marketing agencies and, as you can imagine, I was very keen for my team to progress in the tournament. This led me to put in that little extra effort along with my teammates who worked hard to do well in the group and battle through the knockout stages with some brilliant results.

We ended up getting to the final and gave it our best shot but, unfortunately, it wasn’t to be and, truth is, I had nothing left to give. I was watching the game pass me by and something wasn’t quite right. I thought I was just knackered, but little did I know that the problem was a lot worse than I imagined.

We took part in the presentation and had some pictures taken with our runners-up medals but I really needed to get out of there asap as I felt unwell.

As soon as I got in my car, I felt some discomfort in my chest, which I initially put down to being unfit as I hadn’t played for a few weeks. I couldn’t wait to get home and was on auto-pilot as I followed my friend and team-mate Max all the way home from Manchester to Macclesfield.

The pain in my chest was getting slowly worse and I noticed my hands were clammy and I felt hot. As I’d just been playing football, I didn’t think much of it and continued on my way. The journey seemed to take an eternity, every traffic light was on red and then, suddenly, I began to get aching pains down my right arm.

It was only then when I thought... could this be a heart attack? Only two weeks earlier my first ever football coach and family friend for many years, Craig Sellers, had collapsed and died of a heart attack whilst driving his car.

Of course, I dismissed any chance that it could possibly be that, after all I’m only 26. I even ignored the many signs for Stepping Hill Hospital, that I’d never noticed in my life before, to continue the drive home. On the way, my friends in the car in front pulled into the next lane to turn right and beeped at me as they shouted to let me know they were going to get a well deserved KFC. They were joking around and in a good mood but all I could do was smile and nod. I couldn’t even bring myself to put my window down. I carried on slowly as I began to get more and more uncomfortable and began to move around in my seat to try and ease the pain as cars began to overtake me. I was close to stopping and ringing someone but I’ve got an iPhone so, of course, the battery went! I needed to get home quickly but I’ve never driven so slowly in my life. So when I finally pulled up to my house I felt a huge relief, I picked up my kit and limped through the door into the kitchen (I’d also broken my toe at the football but that was the least of my worries). Using the worktop to support me I scrambled around my cupboard and found a packet of Rennies. That’s right, I thought 2 Rennies would sort me out. I then crawled up the stairs to have a shower and stood in it for ages as the pain seemed to be going away.

After the shower, I attempted to get dressed and began to feel seriously weak and tired as I fell onto my side on the bed. It felt really comfortable and I thought I’d stay there for a bit but the pain in my chest was excruciating. I rang my mum but it went to voicemail and I told her in a weak shaken voice that I had massive chest pain and pain in my right arm. About a month previously she had told me not exert myself when playing football or going to the gym as this type of thing is happening more and more to younger people. I then texted her, my brother and sister to let them know what I thought was happening and, that if I didn’t make it, to remember I love them.

It was then I rang my friend to ask if they could take me to hospital. At first they asked me if they could ring me back… I said, no you really need to come now…I think I’m having a heart attack. They came straight round and we went straight into A&E. I was in a bad way and could feel everyone looking at me in the waiting room. I put my head on the receptionist’s desk as I was in so much pain and I was shocked when she started to ask my religion and people’s phone numbers. She asked me what I did for a living and I had no idea. I was made to sit in the waiting area and I only had to wait for 5 minutes before someone called for ‘Mark Entwistle’… Mark is my dad’s name. I’d even got my own name wrong!

I was then rushed into ‘Resuscitation’ where I was immediately hooked up to lots of wires for an ECG. They also gave me a lot of morphine which gave me a wave of pain relief as I was hooked up to a heart monitor. I couldn’t believe this was really happening. Blood tests they did on me came back quickly and they had shown up an enzyme that appears when there has been an irregularity in the heart. They couldn’t be sure exactly what it was and immediately put me on some medication to thin my blood. I waited for hours as I was monitored and could hear the doctors talking about me and whether or not I would be rushed over to a heart specialist hospital that night. At 4am the decision was made that I would be staying at Macclesfield Hospital. I could still feel pain but it was now under some sort of control and I was put onto a ward full of people in their 60s and 70s. At this point I was pretty emotional as I didn’t understand why or what was happening to me. As well as this, I was scared to go to sleep that night as I thought I was going to die. The machines I was hooked up to were beeping all through the night and I stayed there for the next 3 days with all sorts of tests done. I had to be wheeled to the bathroom if I wanted to go and I felt totally demoralized. But one thing that made it better were the messages of support and visits by family and friends (you know who your real friends/family are at a time like this)

I was waiting Monday to arrive to go in an ambulance to Stoke Hospital where I was told I’d be given an ‘angiogram’ which is where you have your wrist slit and they shove a tube all the way through your vein up your arm into your heart. Nice! They said that I should be able to go home afterwards so I was feeling positive.

Monday arrived and after hours of waiting I got taken in. I was fully awake the whole time as I felt them cut my wrist and push the tube into my heart. The pain began to come back and I panicked as I watched the dye being put into my heart on the big screen in front of me. I could hear everything… and the tone of their voice changed as they had to zoom in on something on screen. Once they had finished and clamped my wrist, the doctor told me that they had found a blood clot in my heart where the blood leaves my main artery. I thought that was the end for me if I’m honest. It sounded serious and I asked them if I was going to die. They said that I’d be on a course of medication before repeating the procedure on my other arm a week later and would definitely not be leaving the hospital any time soon.

In the following week, I was subject to test after test and countless injections whilst wired to a machine. My friend brought me a colouring book for entertainment and I was brought lots of gifts of sweets and chocolate, perfect for the heart ward! I was also forced to postpone my upcoming event and come off Twitter for a while. So I was absolutely overwhelmed when the followers at @OneMinuteBriefs had created their own brief online to support me in such a difficult time. It’s something I’ll never ever forget. These things added up to help me stay strong and I pestered the nurses to take me off the machine and let me walk around. I hated the feeling of helplessness and just existing each day. I did have a scare in the week as one of the tests I had showed I had a small hole in my heart but this was not the reason for the blood clot and 1 in 3 people actually have this. The CT scan was the worst though, having to lie in a tube for 45 minutes as dye is sent through your veins wasn’t the best experience.

Finally, it got to the following Monday, the moment of truth. Had the treatment I’d received worked? They tried to slit my right wrist again, but when it was half cut, they decided it wasn’t working and had to go into my left one. The pain as the tube entered my heart was horrendous as more dye was poured through my heart to see what was going on in there. They put a camera into it to reveal the extent of damage in my artery and whether or not they needed to put a stent in to open it up.

Meanwhile, whilst this was all going on, my mum was outside waiting for the outcome. The nurse had told her it would take 20 minutes but it was getting close to an hour due to the change of arm but she wasn’t to know and was getting more and more worried. Then the nurse asked if the doctor could have a word with her. She thought something bad had happened. Luckily, it was good news, the damage to my artery and any clot had cleared. There was no need to put a stent in and there was no lasting damage to my heart. What a relief. Even if I was in severe pain from my two slit wrists!

So that was it, it had been a rollercoaster of emotions and physically/mentally draining but they said after staying one more night I could leave the next day. It was actually quite sad to say goodbye to the amazing nurses and doctors who had looked after me. They were shocked to see someone so young in there but I helped them art direct their notice board and had a good laugh with them throughout.

As I left the hospital it was the furthest I’d walked in the last two weeks and seeing people walking around was a strange experience. I knew then that it was going to take me a while to rebuild my confidence and fitness.

The first week or two I couldn’t do anything for myself and wasn’t even allowed to do general housework but I started a Cardiac Rehab programme which has encouraged me to become active and build the strength of my heart muscle back up and return to completely normal life. Gradually I’ve started walking, driving, going to the gym and doing normal day to day tasks, as well as returning to work. I’ve mainly worked freelance from home but travelled to do talks at universities and pushed myself to get back to my old self which isn’t easy with the self doubt and worry that something like this brings.

It is three months to the day since it happened and today I had an appointment with the doctor who performed my angiogram. I wasn’t sure what to expect, but they have given me the all-clear to be an absolutely normal 26-year old and to go back to playing football and the life I had before. I am now looking forward to having more confidence and not letting anything hold me back by thinking too much about the past.

So… what does it feel like to have a heart attack at 26? Well… not great. However, in many ways, it has made me really appreciate life and changed the way I think about things. I know that family and friends will always be there no matter what, so now I feel like I can go out and do exactly what I want to do in life and make a difference. Too often I have been held back by people who don’t have the same belief that I do and now this has happened I won’t entertain negativity. It’s actually an empowering feeling and I hope I can use this positivity to help creative people as well as being able to do great things.

I would never say that it’s a good thing that it happened…but maybe it is?

One Minute Brief of the Day: Create an ad that shows us how Juice Cube makes Ugly Fruit SEXY with it's delicious healthy juice

One Minute Brief of the Day: 
Create an ad that shows us how @JuiceCubeUK makes Ugly Fruit SEXY with it's delicious healthy juice

Today we have another great collaboration with Kritical Mass that is a great opportunity to get your ideas in front of guest judge, and advertising, legend Steve Henry. We're looking forward to seeing the results of this brief with a great brand and great prizes up for grabs.

Brief: 
Create an ad that shows us how Juice Cube makes Ugly Fruit SEXY with it's delicious healthy juice


Remember to include your Twitter handle in the corner of your ad and link to kriticalmass.com/p/drinkdifferent. 

Tweet ads to @OneMinuteBriefs @JuiceCubeUK @KriticalM and with the hashtag #DrinkDifferent


Prize:- Judged and video announcement by one of the all-time legends of global advertising, Steve Henry
- Winning entry/ design will be created into a shirt to be sold during the crowdfunding campaign. You will receive your own free shirt.
- A personalised juice package and loyalty card.
- Opportunity to work with Anuj on upcoming Juice Cube projects and promoting healthy lifestyles in schools across the UK.


About Juice Cube
540,000 tonnes of good fruits and vegetables are wasted in London each year. Juice Cube are fighting this problem by turning ugly and unwanted fruit into deliciously HEALTHY JUICE. They're a socially conscious brand who are tackling this issue in a fun, fresh and rebellious way - so everyone can DRINK DIFFERENT.


At the core of what we do here are three simple goals:

- To provide our customers with a product that is always fresh, healthy and delicious.
- To help with the UK’s growing food waste problem
- To make a positive impact on the local community in which we operate

Juice Cube works with local businesses to cut down on this waste. They provide us with unwanted fruits and vegetables, which we then use to create healthy drinks in our store and for delivery.

We are a cheeky brand who are taking on the big guys so feel free to run wild with this and help us make a positive difference.

Anuj Dhanak - Juice Cube Founder 

Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ONBaS8luNys

Links:

kriticalmass.com/p/drinkdifferent

http://www.juice-cube.co.uk

https://twitter.com/JuiceCubeUK

One Minute Brief of the Day: Create an ad that encourages young people to take pride in voting with @IGiveAnX

One Minute Brief of the Day: Create an ad that encourages people to take pride in voting with @IGiveAnX



Today we've got an interesting brief with some brilliant prizes available to the winners. Get involved!!

Remember to include your Twitter handle in the corner of your ad and tweet to @igiveanx and @oneminutebriefs with the hashtag #igiveanx. We'd also like you to get involved by changing your profile pictures. It's a very different brief and we're looking forward to seeing the results!

The prizes are a Pentagram book and a day at Pentagram to get some experience of this multi-award winning agency and turn your idea into reality.

Brief: Create an ad that encourages people to take pride in voting by changing their profile pictures to an X from igiveanx.co.uk. 

Only 65% of us gave an X at the last UK election. This needs to change because voting remains the most powerful way we can affect our country. And, if you don’t give an X, someone else with some other agenda, will.

We’re asking people to visit our website, choose an X to make your profile picture on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram, then announce #igiveanx to encourage everyone to vote this time around.

I Give An X from Pentagram on Vimeo.

In 2010, 16 million people registered but didn’t cast their ballots. We want to ensure want everyone who can, does vote on 7 May.

Social link: https://twitter.com/IgiveanX

Web link: http://igiveanx.co.uk